RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from NBC Bay Area — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
See the full story · 7 sources
Parents and neighbors near a San Jose elementary school say the first days back to school have brought a traffic nightmare following the merger of two campuses .
Lowell Elementary School merged with Washington Elementary School this year, and parents say pickups and drop-offs at Washington have not gone smoothly.
Neighbors describe the area outside the school before and after classes as congested, with some drivers blocking driveways and double parking.
“A lot of parents, we tell them, ‘Please don’t block my driveway.’ And they get mad and they get angry and they yell at us,” said Linda Cortez, who lives across the street from the school. “It’s awful. It’s terrible.”
Cortez said the congestion can make it difficult for other vehicles, including fire trucks and school buses, to get through.
Because of school closures, San Jose Unified transferred Lowell Elementary students to Washington Elementary, increasing the number of students at the campus and the amount of traffic around the school.
The Villamor family transferred from Lowell and is among the families now looking for parking each day.
“Most of the time. All of the time. There is no space for you to park anywhere,” parent Maria Elena Villamor said when asked whether she has to double park. “You have to wait for people to pass, to find space.”
Villamor said she has seen police issuing tickets this week. She said she understands neighbors’ frustrations but needs to park and walk her son to school to make sure he gets inside safely.
San Jose Unified said it provides daily buses to pick up and drop off students from Lowell, but very few families are choosing that option and are instead driving to the new school.
In a statement to NBC Bay Area, San Jose Unified School District said:
“As we begin a new school year at Washington Elementary, we are excited for the increased opportunities that a larger student body offers to our students, staff, and families. At the same time, we recognize that, with Washington Elementary’s enrollment returning closer to where it was ten years ago, the traffic patterns in the surrounding neighborhood are affected. We take the concerns of our families and neighbors seriously, and we are committed to ensuring that arrival and dismissal are safe and efficient for everyone.
“We proactively worked with the City of San José over the summer to establish a new loading zone to improve traffic flow. We also began collaboration with Councilmember Tordillos office on exploring opportunities for additional pedestrian safety improvements, including enhanced crosswalk measures around the campus. We want to thank Councilmember Tordillos and his office for their partnership and responsiveness.
“We have already seen meaningful improvement in traffic flow during drop-off and pick-up this week. The feedback we are receiving from families has been positive, and neighbors have also thanked school staff for reinforcing traffic expectations and helping keep vehicles moving. We are grateful to the San José Police Department for its partnership and presence in the area, including enforcement of traffic laws around the school.
“We are collaborating with the City of San José to conduct joint-observations at pick-up and drop-off during the first few weeks of school to identify additional opportunities for improvement. We will continue to monitor traffic conditions, listen to feedback from our families and neighbors, and make adjustments where needed as our school community settles into the new school year.”
Neighbors say they just want their streets back.
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.